000183394 001__ 183394
000183394 005__ 20181203022936.0
000183394 022__ $$a1662-5110
000183394 02470 $$2PMID$$a18989389
000183394 02470 $$2ISI$$a000207642500001
000183394 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.3389/neuro.04.004.2008
000183394 037__ $$aARTICLE
000183394 245__ $$aHyper-connectivity and hyper-plasticity in the medial prefrontal cortex in the valproic Acid animal model of autism
000183394 269__ $$a2008
000183394 260__ $$c2008
000183394 336__ $$aJournal Articles
000183394 520__ $$aThe prefrontal cortex has been extensively implicated in autism to explain deficits in executive and other higher-order functions related to cognition, language, sociability and emotion. The possible changes at the level of the neuronal microcircuit are however not known. We studied microcircuit alterations in the prefrontal cortex in the valproic acid rat model of autism and found that the layer 5 pyramidal neurons are connected to significantly more neighbouring neurons than in controls. These excitatory connections are more plastic displaying enhanced long-term potentiation of the strength of synapses. The microcircuit alterations found in the prefrontal cortex are therefore similar to the alterations previously found in the somatosensory cortex. Hyper-connectivity and hyper-plasticity in the prefrontal cortex implies hyper-functionality of one of the highest order processing regions in the brain, and stands in contrast to the hypo-functionality that is normally proposed in this region to explain some of the autistic symptoms. We propose that a number of deficits in autism such as sociability, attention, multi-tasking and repetitive behaviours, should be re-interpreted in the light of a hyper-functional prefrontal cortex.
000183394 700__ $$0240391$$aRinaldi, Tania$$g111566
000183394 700__ $$aPerrodin, Catherine
000183394 700__ $$0240392$$aMarkram, Henry$$g150822
000183394 773__ $$j2$$q4$$tFrontiers in neural circuits
000183394 909C0 $$0252120$$pLNMC$$xU10458
000183394 909CO $$ooai:infoscience.tind.io:183394$$pSV$$particle
000183394 937__ $$aEPFL-ARTICLE-183394
000183394 973__ $$aEPFL$$rREVIEWED$$sPUBLISHED
000183394 980__ $$aARTICLE